In this interview conducted on behalf of HPC analyst firm Hyperion Research, we spoke with Argonne National Laboratory’s Rick Stevens about the present and future of HPC.

Layoffs and the threat of delisting at Rigetti and less-well-publicized cash squeezes elsewhere in the young quantum computing landscape have caused a stir. Hyperion Research today issued a Quick Take acknowledging the unsettled quantum waters but suggesting current conditions are more of a passing storm – quite tough on those caught in it – that will pass.

The HPC User Forum is internationally recognized for its diverse user participation and facilitation of invaluable networking among users, vendors, government agencies and private industry. Each year, two full-membership meetings are held in the United States and two at international locations.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, Shakespeare’s doomed protagonist Juliet tells her lover Romeo. But how many times does the Bard use the word “sorrow” in the play? You can use a computer to search the text and come up with the answer (10).

In the face of tremendous complexities and uncertain progress, quantum computing continues to draw significant investments and R&D efforts from countries and companies around the world. A key reason: an “increasing concern about the trajectory of classical HPC,” according to Bob Sorensen, SVP of research at HPC industry analyst firm Hyperion Research, who delivered a “whirlwind tour” of quantum last week at a HPC User Forum hosted by Hyperion in Washington.

The HPC industry, after years of discussions and anticipation and some relatively minor delays, is now fully in the era of exascale computing, with the United States earlier this year standing up Frontier, its first such supercomputer, and plans for two more next year.

A new study of commercial early adopters of quantum computing by HPC industry analyst firm Hyperion Research shows that 80 percent of respondents plan to increase their QC commitment in the next two to three years, and reveals the top value drivers for adopting the technology, namely enhanced business process efficiencies and increased revenue.

Hyperion Research delivered its latest outlook for the quantum computing market yesterday at the Q2B22 Conference, estimating revenues for 2022 will finish around $614 million and jump to $1.2 billion in 2025 representing a 25 percent CAGR.

A recent survey of enterprise organizations that already are working with quantum computing to some degree found that many of them intend to increase their commitments to the technology, and eventually their budgets as well.